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Research

Fact of the day

The ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin Institute for the Economy and the Future of Work (RFBerlin) engages in research designed to raise the standard of public debate and create the best possible basis for policy making.

Equity, Inclusion & Opportunity
Equity, Inclusion & Opportunity
Migration & Global Collaboration
Migration & Global Collaboration
Technology, Trade & Human Capital
Technology, Trade & Human Capital

Discussion papers

No. 193/26 - July 2026

On the Extent, Correlates, and Consequences of Reporting Bias in Survey Wages

Marco Caliendo, Katrin Huber, Ingo Isphording, Jakob Wegmann

No. 192/26 - July 2026

Taxing Labor: Firm R&D, Automation and the Labor Share

Hyejin Ku, Uta SchΓΆnberg, Ragnhild C. Schreiner

No. 191/26 - July 2026

The Labor Market Impacts of GLP-1s

Meltem Daysal, Camille Fredrickson, Ida Lykke Kristiansen, Mircea Trandafir, Jonathan Zhang

No. 190/26 - July 2026

Racial Screening on the Big Screen? Evidence from the Motion Picture Industry

Liang Zhong, Angela Crema, M. Daniele Paserman

Research Insights

Concise, research-based articles for scholars,
policymakers, and anyone curious about the world.

No. 21/26 - June 2026

Did Extractive TaxationΒ Trigger the French Revolution?Β 

This study explores how heavier taxation under the Ancien RΓ©gime contributed to unrest and anti-tax grievances before 1789. The findings suggest that unequal and extractive taxation undermined the monarchy’s legitimacy and helped fuel support for revolutionary change.

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No. 20/26 - June 2026

Friends at Work: Do Social Connections Make Teams Perform Better?

Imagine a workplace where teams occasionally meet outside workβ€”sharing a meal, playing games, or simply spending time together. It may sound like a small perk, but could it actually be profitable for employers to support such activities?

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No. 19/26 - May 2026

Highly Controlling Parenting Linked to Worse Life Chances of Children

How much do parents shape their children’s future? This research looks at how different parenting styles are related to children’s outcomes from school all the way into the labor market.

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CReAM Reports

Data-driven reports on migration and related economic and social trends, highlighting the latest developments across Europe and beyond.

No. 4/25 - October 2025

From Syria to Ukraine: Refugee Inflows and Trends in the European Union

The EU refugee population rose from about 1 million in 2014 to 7.8 million in 2024, driven by Syria and then the larger post-2022 Ukraine inflow. Germany remains the main host, but growth has been faster and uneven across countries, increasing pressure on asylum systems.

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No. 3/25 - July 2025

Employment of Migrants in the European Union

Employment in the EU has risen for all groups. EU migrants have the highest rates, non-EU migrants have improved but still lag, mainly due to lower employment among non-EU women, while men’s rates are similar across groups.

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No. 2/25 - June 2025

Education of Migrants in the European Union

Tertiary education among EU migrants has risen steadily, with EU migrants nearing native levels and non-EU migrants closing the gap. Differences remain across countries and groups, with women generally more educated than men.

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News

RFBerlin research and researchers are regularly featured in the press.

Press release

12 Jul 2026

Unequal Taxation Helped Fuel the French Revolution
View article
Press release

10 Jul 2026

Collective Agreements Are Least Common Where Workers Need Them Most
View article
Press

1 Jul 2026

RFBerlin Research Insight on Unemployment Featured on rbb24 Inforadio
View article
Press release

1 Jul 2026

Job Prospects Decline Sharply The Longer a Person Remains Unemployed
View article

Tweets by @RF_Berlin

⚠️ Three days left to apply for the RFBerlin Masterclass this September.
Spend two days with Christopher Stanton (Harvard Business School) and Guido Friebel (Goethe University Frankfurt) on the frontiers of personnel economics.
Apply: https://form.typeform.com/to/Nlv1lJ3i
Learn more:

πŸŽ‰ This Friday marks the 100th RFBerlin Brown Bag Seminar!

This time, we’re delighted to welcome David Berger (@DukeEcon) for a talk on 𝘈 π˜‹π˜’π˜―π˜ͺ𝘴𝘩 𝘍π˜ͺ𝘹 𝘰𝘧 𝘜.𝘚. π˜”π˜°π˜³π˜΅π˜¨π˜’π˜¨π˜¦ π˜“π˜°π˜€π˜¬-π˜ͺ𝘯?

100 seminars, countless ideas, and many lively lunchtime discussions;

πŸ“° Our latest CReAM@RFBerlin report on immigrant employment in the EU has been featured by international media including @Reuters, @tagesschau, @FR, @Internazionale, @EconomicTimes and more.

Read the report by Christian Dustmann, Tommaso Frattini & Camilla Piovesan:
➑️

Employment is at its highest level since 2017, but Europe is still leaving talent untapped.

Better recognition of foreign qualifications, improved job matching, and stronger support for non-EU immigrant women could help unlock underused talent and ease labour shortages across

Upcoming events

RFBerlin hosts a wide array of events aimed at fostering academic research and collaboration.

RFBerlin Public Lecture

20 October 2026

Investing in Child Mental Health: Implications for Human Capital Development

RFBerlin Annual Public Lecture by Janet Currie

RFBerlin Applied Economics Seminar

27 October 2026

Michael Keane (Johns Hopkins University)

RFBerlin Masterclass

5 Nov – 6 Nov 2026

β€œRacial Inequality in the Labor Market” by Kerwin Charles and Ellora Derenoncourt

Handbook of Labor Economics – Chapter Previews

In anticipation of the upcoming Handbook of Labor Economics, we offer early access to select chapters through our Discussion Papers series. Following our 2023 conference on this new edition, first chapters are now available for preview, featuring insights from leading research in economics and labor.

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